From: Megan Andres Date: 31 May 1999 12:00:35 -0700 Subject: xfc collector's edition and hello! From: Megan Andres XFC: hi! i am megan/spendergirl. i just joined the list and i am really eager to read everyone's stuff. i also hope you enjoy mine! megan spendergirl TITLE: The Collector's Edition AUTHOR: Spendergirl RATING: Not Rated DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the X-Files characters. Chris Carter owns them. I do own the SKA Building. It's named after my dad's company. I also own any non-files characters in this story. DEDICATION: For Maga. SUMMARY: Someone begins a collection of some people to make some point. NOTE: This is my sixth story but my first post here. Please notice the address that all comments should be sent to at the bottom of the piece. This story doesn't really have a relationship between anyone but it is a Scully/Skinner friendship type piece. Also, this story implies rape. Enjoy! The Collector's Edition Skinner looked up from the morning paper to hear a knock at his door. He laid the paper on the coffee table and got up to answer it. Just as he reached it, his phone rang. He raced for the phone while calling out to whoever was at the door. As Skinner picked up the phone a click could be heard on the other end. It was an electronic voice. "Mr. Skinner, do you remember me? I have talked with you before. I want you to know that I have begun a new game. You and others will be my game pieces. If I win, I get to create a collection of those who have played. If you win- but that's not going to happen anyway. Do you have any questions?" "Who the hell is this? Where are you?" "Mr. Skinner, I'm at the door." A click signaled the end of the conversation. The doorbell rang again. Skinner looked at it with a deadly glare. The bell ceased to ring and someone began pounding on the door. Skinner backed up into the bathroom. He grabbed his cell phone on the way. He hit speed dial 3 and held the phone to his ear. He heard a voice on the other end. "Hello? Hello? Is anyone there?" "Help me." "What? Mulder is that you?" "Scully, help me." Skinner's conversation was cut short when the bathroom door was broken in. He fell to the floor and hit his head on the tub. Through clouded eyes he peered up at his attacker. The man smiled down at him and began to laugh. "Round one goes to me Skinner. Round two will begin soon. Enjoy the game." Skinner blacked out then and never even felt the man drag him from the apartment. The only sign of struggle was the broken bathroom door left behind. It couldn't be hidden but that wasn't what the man wanted. He wanted Scully to know what had happened. In other circumstances he also would have left the cell phone, but he already knew her number. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Scully opened the door to her home while balancing two huge file folders on her left arm. It was at that moment that her cell phone chose to ring. She sighed and resigned herself to the fact that it was probably Mulder. He was calling to drag her out to the middle of nowhere to do God knows what. She clicked it on when she set the files on her table. "Hello? Hello? Is anyone there?" "Help me." "What? Mulder, is that you?" "Scully, help me." It was with that whispered set of words that the phone went dead. She gave the phone a puzzled look. That had been one of the weirdest calls she had ever gotten. It was probably some nutcase who had gotten her name from the phone book. She thought nothing of it when her house phone rang. This time it was Mulder. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Skinner woke up in a damp cell. It reminded him of a food cellar from the early 40s. He could see that it had been cleaned recently. There was a chair across from where he was laying. Under him was a mattress pad. He had no pillow and hurt all over. When he managed to sit up, he began to inspect his injuries. His shoulder was bleeding and the gash he saw was deep. He also noticed that his head still hurt from the fall. When he reached up to feel his forehead, his hand became covered in blood. Skinner attempted to stand up but only fell down again. His eyes clouded over again when the door to the cellar opened. "Mr. Skinner, how are we feeling this evening?" Skinner grunted noncommittally as he closed his eyes. The man gazed down at Skinner's prone body and gave a loud laugh. The door opened again and a woman walked over to Skinner's body. She looked at her boss and began to speak. "The next one has been located. We can get over there in ten minutes." "Good Corine. Very good." The man looked down at Skinner again. He looked around the cell and paced it slowly. The room was just big enough for the both of them. He motioned for the woman to follow him out of the cellar. When they reached the hallway, he pulled her to him. "Get a second bed. The good doctor will need it when we play round three." XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Mulder opened the office door. He was surprised to find the office empty. Scully was usually early on Tuesdays. He tried to remember if she had said she was going to be late. After a second of reviewing his photographic memory, he couldn't figure out why she was late. He picked up the phone and dialed her number. "Hello?" "Maggie? What are you doing there?" "Fox, Dana and I were going to have breakfast together. She never showed up. I figured she was sick so I came over here. She isn't with you?" "No. Do you have any idea where she might be Maggie?" "Try Ripley's Bar. She's friends with Ripley. He might have needed her." "No problem Maggie. I'll find her." Mulder hung up the phone only to have his cell phone ring. A recording clicked on as Mulder pulled the phone to his ear. From what the recording was saying, it sounded like a woman. He couldn't hear anything specific until the volume was turned up on the other end. "- Mulder, help me." XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Ripley had felt guilty about calling Dana. He had not needed her proffered help in several years, but the restaurant had gotten rather busy this morning. He gazed over at Dana who was running an order to a corner booth. She looked like she hadn't slept in a year. She was wearing a lot of make-up. The bar phone rang then. It was that freak who called Dana by the name Scully. "Is Mr. Ripley there?" "This is him Mr. FBI. What do you want?" "I just want to know if Scully is there." "Yeah. I'll tell her you called. She'll be out of here in about ten minutes. Bye." Ripley hung up on the guy and called for Dana. She walked over slowly and quietly listened to him. She smiled when she heard who had called. When he told her that she could go, she untied the apron she was wearing and gave it to him. She shook his hand and turned to leave. Neither one of them noticed the guy next to them at the bar. He left just after Scully did. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Scully woke up in a cold room. There were two pads on the floor. She was laying on one of them. Out of nowhere she heard a piercing scream. It stopped after a few seconds only to begin again. She noticed a chair across from her. It had a dress shirt on it. She picked herself up and walked over to the chair. There was a tie stuffed in the pocket of the shirt. She recognized the tie but couldn't place where she had seen it before. She also noticed that the second pad was messed up. It had been laid in recently. It was stained with blood and sweat. When she touched the blood, it coated her hand. It was pretty fresh. She had not noticed that the screaming had stopped. The door to the room opened. A man stood in the doorway. He began to speak to her. "Ah, you must be Doctor Scully. Welcome to the game I have created. You are probably wondering where you are. That I can't tell you. But I can tell you that you will not be alone during your stay here. You will have a houseguest. He'll be here in a minute." "Why am I here?" "I began playing a game with an old friend of mine. When I looked into expanding the game, I found reference in his file to you. I thought it would be wise to have a doctor play my game. That way my friend could play longer. Your job will be to keep this friend alive. I will not help you. The box in the corner is all the supplies you may have. When it is gone, my friend will lose. Good day." Scully watched him leave before she approached the box. She opened it cautiously. In it were medical supplies, drugs, and syringes. She began sorting the contents of the box into piles on the floor. The drugs were mostly painkillers and sleeping medicine. The syringes were of all sizes. The bandages were cloth and were supplemented with medical tape. As Scully began placing the articles back in the box, the door opened again. A woman and another man were dragging something into the room. They dropped it in a heap on the second mattress. When the intruders had left, Scully crept over to the immobile lump. When she finally got to it, she rolled it over. A gasp escaped her lips. The man's face was covered in blood and his shoulder was ripped open. His chest was covered with burns and cuts of all shapes and sizes. Scully pulled an alcohol bottle from the box and began to wash the man's face. As his skin was exposed, she got a sense of dj vu. She stared at the man for a moment. It was then that she recognized him. "Skinner!" XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX The wall had fourteen marks on it. That was how many times Skinner had been taken away since Scully had first gotten there. Each time he was away he came back worse. After the last time, she had pumped him full of painkillers. It hadn't helped. He still tossed and turned and cried out in his sleep. The box was slowly dwindling down. Scully had few choices left. Either give Skinner painkillers or knock him out with the sleeping medication. With as much pain as Skinner was in now, she almost felt guilty feeling the way she did. Whenever he was gone, she couldn't sleep. His screams were too loud and piercing. She hadn't asked the man what they did to Skinner but anything that could make him scream in pain had to be bad. Based on the amount of meals they had received since the first one, Scully guessed that they had been here for almost two weeks. Two weeks but no one had found them yet. They had to be in an old abandoned building in a vacant area. They could be anywhere of course but that would be too hard for the game. She heard a groan from across the room and got up. Skinner had woken up and was beginning to feel the injuries they had inflicted on him. During the times he had been here, he had never be coherent enough to know who she was. When he turned his face to her this time though, she saw recognition flash across his features. "- Scully?" "It's okay sir. I'm right here. Do you know your name?" Skinner grunted an affirmative before passing out again. Scully took this opportunity to examine his wounds. His chest showed the scars of past visits to the boss. But the worse was his back. There were deep cuts and dark bruises all over his back. Only when he was unconscious could Scully get him rolled over on his back. It hurt too much. She struggled to pull him onto his right side. When she managed to do it, she lay down next to him. He was shaking violently from the cold he had caught while here. Scully put her arms around him and fell asleep for the first time in four days. She didn't hear the door open until it was too late. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Mulder was stalking the PD. It had been almost two weeks since anyone had seen Scully. The PD wouldn't let him in on the investigation. What really topped the cake was that Skinner was missing as well. No one had seen him in a little over two weeks. Mulder knew something wasn't right, but he couldn't prove it. Not yet anyway. He had asked Sharon Skinner for any file folders she could find in her house. Files that would focus on any criminal that Skinner had dealt with. Since the recorded call he had received two weeks ago, Mulder had gone through Skinner's office with the secretary. No one could find a link between Skinner and Scully that would cause them to be missing at the same time. That is until Mulder had looked at Skinner's public records. Scully was listed as his physician. That could link them together for some freak who liked to kidnap people, but this guy smelled professional. This guy knew what he was doing. The phone rang o his desk and he immediately answered it. "Mr. Mulder? This is Sharon Skinner. I found some old files from when Walter was an agent. I'm having them sent to you. They should be there soon." "Thank you very much Mrs. Skinner. I can't tell you how this helps." "Find him Agent Mulder. Find him soon. Some of the people he put in jail were psychotic. Help him." "I will Sharon. I will." XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Scully had tried to hold onto Skinner's body, but the men were stronger than her. They had dragged him away again. She could hear the screams now. They hadn't stopped in what seemed to be forever. As the time wore on, she noticed that several meals had been brought to her by the woman. Scully quickly counted the trays in front of her. There were nine. She couldn't believe that it had been three days since she had seen Skinner. But the evidence was overwhelming. Scully got up and began banging on the door. She continued this until her hands were scrapped up and bloody. No one cared to come for her. She couldn't stop what was happening to him. Scully curled up in a ball in the corner of the room and cried her eyes out. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX The men half carried, half escorted Skinner back to the cell. They had told him that it had been ten days since he last ate. Which meant he had been nine days away from Scully. All he really remembered of those nine days was the blinding pain and the screams he had given. That woman was standing at the cell door. She opened it and helped the men push Skinner inside. He fell to the floor next to some food trays. The trays were full and hadn't been touched. There were enough for six days of food. He looked for the freshest one and gingerly picked up a piece of bread. It tasted stale and was incredibly dry. He spat it out and looked around the cell. In the far corner was a dark object about the size of a crumpled bed quilt. He carefully approached it. He didn't realize that it was Scully until he got close enough to touch her. He reached out and rolled her onto her side. He could feel her ribs through her shirt. He knew then that the food was for her, but she had stopped eating it after the third day. She was gazing past him and her cheeks were stained with long dried tears. She was almost catatonic and didn't even seem to see him. He pulled her onto his lap and was shocked when she didn't react to the movement. It was like she was dead. Her eyes blinked every once in a while but not often enough. He started talking to her to see if he could wake her up. "Scully? Dana? Come on. Wake up. Mulder will kill me if you don't talk to me. Dana, I'm here okay? I won't let them take me again. Dana?" He felt rather than heard a groan escape Scully's lips. He looked down at her and saw her mouth moving, but no sound was coming out. She was crying. Almost without warning she started to scream and hit her ears with her hands. "Stop! Stop! Stop that noise! No! Skinner! Stop! Damn you stop!" Skinner grabbed her arms and held her down. In retaliation she began to kick him. She was swearing at him now. Telling him to go to hell and die. Telling him to let her die. He wondered what that creep had done to her during those nine days. Finally, Scully wore herself out and fell asleep in Skinner's arms. He wrapped her more tightly in his embrace and tried to keep himself awake by counting the times he had bitched out Mulder for breaking the rules. It was like counting sheep. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Mulder had spent the whole night reading Skinner's old files. He hadn't found anything yet that screamed out at him as the culprit. Everyone was either dead or in jail. No one had been released early or was even going to be released soon. He picked up the last file and resigned himself to the fact that no one would be able to find Skinner or Scully in time. He skimmed through the file slowly until he found a release record. This guy had been let out after fourteen years for good behavior. His occupation was serial torturer. Skinner had caught him after four murders. While in court the guy had shouted out a threat to Skinner. He had told him to have a damn good doctor for when he came back. Mulder dropped the file. Good doctor- threat of revenge- early release- this was the guy! Mulder picked up his cell phone and called the PD. While waiting to talk to the chief, Mulder said the guy's name over and over again. It was Chuck Hobbes. He used to own the SKA Building. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Scully was warm. She opened her eyes to find the cell door in front of her. But she knew right away that she was not laying on the mattress pad. She tried to move but was rebuffed on all sides. It was then that she noticed the groan. Skinner was in pain because she kept moving. She slowly pulled away from him and looked him over. His chest had been cut many times and his left eye was black and blue. He looked like shit. She pulled him so that he lay totally on the ground and slowly got up. She moved over to the mattress and lay down. She finally slept after two weeks of sleepless nights. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Mulder began researching the SKA Building and its owner Chuck Hobbes. Hobbes had risen to financial success in less than four years. He lost it all however when he bet his building in a poker game and lost. The first victim had been the new owner of SKA and the second had been the man's wife. There was nothing unusual about their deaths. The next murder had been totally new however. The victim had been tortured physically and sexually for almost seven days before Hobbes killed the man. It was about that time that Skinner got the case from his boss. Skinner had followed the man's "work" for almost four months when the last murder occurred. The last victim was Hobbes' ex wife. She had been beaten, sexually abused, physically tortured, and strangled during a period of four days. Her body had been found at the SKA Building. For some reason Hobbes' murders revolved around that damn building. Mulder couldn't figure out why. He placed a blueprint for the building on his living room floor. It had four floors and a cellar basement. The last victim had been found in the basement, but it was unlikely that Hobbes would take Skinner and Scully there. It was too obvious. Mulder's phone rang and he picked it up. "Hello." "Mulder! Mulder! Help us! Mulder, it's me! No!" The connection had been broken from the opposite end. Mulder placed the phone on the floor and reached for the cell phone next to him. He dialed the phone company and got a trace on the call. He knew it had been Scully and soon he would know where she was. The operator told him where the call had come from. He was shocked. It was that damn building! XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX The man was standing over Scully while his employees held Skinner down. He looked over at Skinner and smiled. Walter was fighting to get free from his captors. All he had had to say was his ex wife's name. Walter knew what he would do to the pretty doctor. He called for Corine and had her help carry Scully from the room. He then came back and knocked Skinner out. As Skinner lost consciousness, the man whispered what he would do to Scully. It was terrifying. The man kicked Skinner a final time and left. He walked down the hallway where Corine caught up to him. She walked the rest of the way with him. She waited until they had reached the room before speaking to him. "What are you going to do to him?" "Kill him. She won't be a problem ever again." "What about her? Kill her too?" "No! I have special plans for her. The good doctor will never be able to look at another man without thinking of me. Make sure you wait to kill Skinner until he wakes up." "Why?" "So he can see her before he dies." XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Mulder had already gathered together a SWAT team to enter the building. They were about to begin the operation. He had contacted Sharon and Maggie. They were both on their way to DC General. The FBI had supplied ambulances to transport Skinner and Scully to the hospital. Mulder quickly reviewed the setup. Nothing could be forgotten. It could mean Scully's life. The SWAT leader called out his readiness to Mulder. While he waited for the final okay from OPR, Mulder thought about Scully. He hadn't prayed in a long time, but he said a quick prayer that she would be alive when the team found her. OPR okayed the procedure and SWAT was on the move. As the team got closer to the building, they reported noises. Mulder called a halt and waited for the noises to continue. They were unearthly screams. "No! Stop please! Oh God! Mulder!" Mulder yelled for the team to enter. He had recommended a "shoot-on-sight" order for the team. OPR had taken his suggestion and made it law. Chuck Hobbes would never leave that building alive. The team leader broke down the front door and began his sweep of the building. Each team member disappeared into the building with their weapons drawn. Mulder stood back and waited for them to return. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX The man dragged a crumpled lump into the cell. Skinner looked up from his spot on the floor. It was Scully. Or at least it used to be Scully. Her clothes were torn and her face was covered in blood. From the way she was laying, he could tell that Hobbes had done what he had promised. He had hurt Scully in the way that no man should ever hurt a woman. "So now what Hobbes? What are you going to do to me? You can't do much more to hurt me after what you did to her." "I know Walter. It is time to die." Hobbes pulled a gun from a holster that Corine had given him. He cocked the weapon and pointed it at Scully. Corine stepped back and gave Hobbes plenty of room. Skinner could see that Scully was now awake. Her body was shaking from the cold and the fear. She stared at him, and he knew then that he would die before she did. Hobbes looked up with a confused expression on his face. Skinner strained to listen. There were people in the hallway. Hobbes turned around and grabbed Skinner pressing the gun to his head. The door to the cell blasted open and a man stepped through the smoking hole. Mulder pulled a gun on Hobbes while the team neutralized Hobbes' employees. Mulder was trying his hardest to ignore the fact that Scully was laying on the floor crying. All he could concentrate on was Skinner and Hobbes. Mulder needed help, but he knew he wouldn't get it from Skinner. The man was barely able to stand up on his own. Mulder's eyes tracked Hobbes as the man pulled Skinner with him out the door. The team began to pursue Hobbes when Mulder called them back. He whispered with the team leader, and quietly the team exited the building. It was just Mulder and Hobbes now. And as far as Mulder was concerned, Hobbes would never see the light of another day. Mulder followed Hobbes through the building. He was always a step behind. He finally caught up to Hobbes on the third floor. Hobbes had pushed Skinner to the edge of a balcony near a bank of old machines. Skinner was nearly unconscious and appeared to be losing his grip with reality. He was shaking and mumbling about Scully. Mulder pulled up his gun and trained it on Hobbes. "Turn around now Hobbes!" Hobbes did as he was told. Not because he was afraid of Mulder, but because he knew Skinner was too weak to hurt him. What Mulder didn't know was that Hobbes had prepared himself for a confrontation with the good doctor's partner. Hobbes had perused Scully's file as well as Mulder's. "Mr. Mulder. Or do you prefer Spooky? Ever since the doctor called out for you four days ago I've wanted to meet you. My name is- well, you probably know my name. And you probably know what I do here." "Just shut up Hobbes! Step away from him! NOW!" Mulder's arm was shaking and it was hard for him to get a good chest shot on Hobbes. The man kept moving around the various machines. By the time Mulder noticed that Hobbes had pulled him to an unfinished part of the third floor it was too late to stop. A shadow on the wall shifted and drew Mulder's attention away from Hobbes. Corine had stepped out of the shadow and placed her gun against Mulder's head. A loud bang caused Mulder to jump. Another shadow moved around him and his captor. Corine called out to the shadow. She lowered her gun and turned to face Mulder. She aimed at his chest and fired. In a blaze of pain and blood, Mulder sank to the ground. Corine moved into position over Mulder's body to finish the job when another loud bang erupted through the area. Mulder was conscious long enough to see the gunman crawl out of the shadows. It was Skinner. Mulder's eyes glazed over and he passed out from the pain. Skinner dropped the gun next to Corine's body and fell to the floor. When the SWAT team leader finally found the bodies, both Mulder and Skinner had pulled themselves to the stairs. The team leader soon saw why. Hobbes lay at the bottom of the stairs. He had been shot point blanc range in the back. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -one month later Scully walked into her apartment and dropped her bags on the couch. After four weeks in the hospital, she was ready to come home. The place had been cleaned up by her mother who had divided her time between seeing Dana and Mulder during their stay at DC General. Mulder had been home for two weeks and Skinner was going to be released tomorrow. So much had happened that Scully had refused to discuss anything with Mulder. Only Skinner could ever understand the emotional trauma that Hobbes had inflicted on her. Only he knew what Hobbes had done to her in those last hours of their imprisonment. And as long as Scully had her way, no one would ever know what had been whispered to Skinner before she was taken away. Hobbes' collection had failed. He would have no collector's edition of Skinner and his friends. Hobbes had failed to avenge himself on the man who had put him away for the protection of society. It was at the cost of Scully, Skinner, and Mulder that society was able to continue living without the threat of a collector's debt on its collective head. The End XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Any flames, praise, or indifference can be sent to me at mfiles1013@yahoo.com. I welcome any feedback you have. Thanks!